WTO and China; Honey Bees Get $10million Research Gift

**A former member of President Trump’s trade transition team says the U.S. may need to “walk away” from the World Trade Organization if China doesn’t start playing by the rules.

In a recent interview with CNBC, Dan DiMicco, former CEO of Nucor Steel, said China has not lived up to the promises it made when joining the WTO and no one is holding them accountable.

DiMicco says China has been unfairly allowed to reap the benefits of the WTO without cutting back on its protectionist policies.

**The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research is committing $10 million toward reversing the decline of pollinators in the U.S.

FFAR says the Pollinator Health Fund will support research and technology developments that affect pollinators in ag landscapes and real-world applications to beekeeping, land management, and farming practices.

Pollinators like the honey bee and monarch butterfly help sustain ecosystems and contribute more than $24 billion to the U.S. economy annually.

**The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard from a variety of witnesses last week that the Endangered Species Act, now more than 40 years old, still provides an important function, but needs to be modernized.

Former Wyoming governor, David Freudenthal told lawmakers that the “original groundbreaking legislation” signed into law by Richard Nixon, granted broad authority to the executive branch, but over time, “the mechanism, by and large, has sand in the gears.”

He says it’s too easy for parties to petition for a species to be protected under the ESA.